Prohibition Flashcards
Name two groups that had long campaigns to enforce prohib
Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (1874)
Anti-Saloon League (1895)
What was the ‘era of prohib’
It was the time when the making, selling or transporting of alcoholic drink became illegal in the USA
What did the WCTU and A-SL claim
That alcohol brought poverty, broke up marriages, caused crime and insanity and disrupted industry
By 1917 how many American states had already banned alcohol
18 states
When did the prohibition ban become national
1919
Which Amendment made prohibition part of the US Constitution
The 18th Amendment
What is an amendment
In American politics, a change made to a part of the Constitution by the Government
When was the Volstead Act and what did it define
1919 - a separate law
Defined an alcoholic drink as any drink that was more than 0.5% alcohol
Was the alcohol ban popular?
No!!
What did most people think about the alcohol ban and what did they do
They saw nothing wrong with having a drink and thus found ways to get round the law
What was moonshine
A home made alcoholic drink, usually poor quality and often caused illness and even death
What did town dwellers do to get alcohol
They looked to other to provide the alcohol they wanted
What were speakeasies
Secret bars that were set up behind locked doors in cellars and back rooms
By 1930 how many speakeasies were there in the USA
Nearly 250,000
How many speakeasies were there in New York alone by 1930?
30,000
How did speakeasies get their alcohol and where did these people get the rum and whiskey from
From bootleggers who brought in rum from the West Indies and whiskey from Canada
Who persuaded legislators to ban alcohol
The moral right-wing
What was prohib driven by (two types of people)
Religious conservatives
Sociologists that saw the damage drink did to families
How were vast profits made during prohibition, and what did these profits attract
From the illegal alcohol trade
Attracted gangsters
Who was Al Capone
An Italian immigrant gangster who operated in Chicago
How many men were in Capone’s gang and what were they armed with ( two types of guns)
700 men
Armed with sawn-off shot guns and machine-guns
What were Capone’s gang like
A private army
What happened to Capone’s gangs rivals
They were ‘rubbed out’ (killed)
Who else was in Al Capone’s pay? (Three types of people)
Many of city’s leading police officers
Judges
Politicians
